The present invention relates to smoking articles such as cigarettes and, in particular, to those smoking articles having a fuel element, a physically separate aerosol generating means, and a mouthend piece. Smoking articles of the present invention include means for retaining the fuel element in a predetermined position relative to other components of the smoking article. Preferred smoking articles of the present invention are capable of providing the user with the pleasures of smoking (e.g., smoking taste, feel, satisfaction, and the like), by heating but not burning tobacco.
Cigarettes, cigars and pipes are popular smoking articles which use tobacco in various forms. Many smoking products and smoking articles have been proposed through the years as improvements upon, or alternatives to, the various popular smoking articles.
Many tobacco substitute smoking materials have been proposed, and a substantial listing of such materials can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,079,742 to Rainer et al. Tobocco substitute smoking materials having the tradenames Cytrel and NSM were introduced in Europe during the 1970's as partial tobacco replacements, but did not realize any long-term commercial success.
Numerous references have proposed smoking articles which generate flavored vapor and/or visible aerosol. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,907,686 to Siegel; U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,258,015 and 3,356,094 to Ellis et al; U.S. Pat. No. 3,516,417 to Moses; U.S. Pat. No. 4,340,072 to Bolt and U.S. Pat. No. 4,474,191 to Steiner. However, despite decades of interest and effort, no one had successfully developed a smoking article which provided the sensations associated with cigarette, cigar or pipe smoking, without delivering considerable quantities of incomplete combustion and pyrolysis products.
Recently, however, in European Patent Publication Nos. 212,234 and 277,519; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,708,151; 4,714,082; 4,756,318 and 4,793,365; assigned to R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., there are described smoking articles which are capable of providing the sensations associated with cigarette and pipe smoking, without the necessity of burning tobacco and without delivering considerable quantities of incomplete combustion products. Such smoking articles employ an aerosol generating means, physically separate from and in a heat exchange relationship with a fuel element. The aerosol generating means normally includes tobacco in the form of tobacco extracts, tobacco flavor modifiers and tobacco flavoring agents and aerosol forming substances such as glycerin. It would be highly desirable to provide means which help retain the fuel element in a predetermined position in relation to other components of the smoking article both prior to and during smoking.